Travels News
Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is heading back to England to play for the team where he became a legend.Manchester United said Friday that it had reached an agreement to bring the 36-year-old Portuguese forward back to Old Trafford, where the storied club plays.”Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with …
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Abuja and Moscow have signed an agreement for the former to buy nearly $1 billion in military equipment and services, Nigeria’s ambassador to Russia, Abdullahi Shehu, told VOA.The Nigerian Embassy released a statement that said the agreement “provides a legal framework for the supply of military equipment, provision of after sales services, training of personnel …
With the Taliban in control of Afghanistan, the European Union is looking to Turkey to bear the brunt of an expected exodus of Afghan refugees heading to Europe. But Turkey is resisting the call. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. Video editor: Marcus Harton …
Ukraine, which is marking 30 years of independence this August, is among Europe’s poorest countries. But its vibrant culture and business climate have attracted many foreigners who now call Ukraine home. Among them is American investment banker Nick Piazza, who has been living in Ukraine since 2004. Iryna Solomko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
Thirty years ago, a group of Soviet hard-liners attempted a coup in the Soviet Union aimed at stopping reforms started by then President Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup failed in the course of three days but put in motion events that would forever change its course. VOA’s Daria Dieguts reports. …
The European Court of Human Rights has asked Poland and Latvia to help dozens of migrants trapped at their respective borders with Belarus. Neither country is allowing the migrants in, and both Poland and the Baltic states have accused Belarus of using the migrants as a political tool for revenge, specifically over European Union …
Read more “European Rights Court Urges Poland, Latvia to Help Migrants at Belarus Border”
Russia’s central regions on Wednesday battled “extreme” wildfires fueled by an unusual heatwave that comes after forest fires linked to climate change ravaged Siberia for most of the summer. Authorities were fighting 15 wildfires in the Urals region of Sverdlovsk, the Emergencies Ministry said. The region — which lies on the border of Europe and Asia — …
U.S. allies say they have no choice but to follow the American timetable and withdraw their troops from Afghanistan by August 31, despite fears that not everyone will get out in time.Several NATO allies are evacuating their citizens from Kabul airport, including eligible Afghans who worked alongside them and who are now desperate to flee. Britain, …
Read more “Kabul Evacuations Intensify as G-7 Leaders Fail to Shift US Deadline”
Poland’s prime minister said Tuesday that Belarus was purposely encouraging migrants from the Middle East to enter Poland to destabilize the European Union.”Our eastern neighbor is trying systematically, and in an organized way, to destabilize the political situation,” Mateusz Morawiecki said during a visit to the eastern town of Kuznica.About 3,000 migrants, some of them from …
Read more “Poland Accuses Belarus of Pushing Migrants Its Way “
The British government is considering plans to release beavers back into the wild across England some four centuries after the dam-building mammals became extinct in Britain. The proposals, described as a cautious step toward establishing a native beaver population, would see the animals allowed to be introduced if strict criteria were met along with an assessment …
Read more “Britain Considers Bringing Back Beavers After 400 Years”
U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria say they are increasingly concerned about a wave of Turkish drone attacks against their commanders in northeast Syria.Turkey reportedly carried out dozens of airstrikes last week, including several with unmanned aerial vehicles, against positions belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been a major …
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The European Union and Britain are looking to Turkey to become a hub to process Afghan refugees seeking sanctuary in Europe. Turkey is rejecting the call.The Turkish government is dismissing calls from Europe for it to become a hub to process Afghan refugees. Government spokesman Omer Celik said Monday that with Turkey already hosting nearly …
Read more “Turkey Rebuffs Europe’s Call to Host Afghan Refugees”
Charlie Watts, the self-effacing and unshakeable Rolling Stones drummer who helped anchor one of rock’s greatest rhythm sections and used his “day job” to support his enduring love of jazz, has died, according to his publicist. He was 80.Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that Watts “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by …
Read more “Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts Dies at Age 80”
Turkish women gathered outside the Afghan consulate in Istanbul to show their solidarity with Afghan women and to condemn the Taliban’s treatment of women. VOA’s Umut Colak has filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.Camera: Umut Colak Produced by: Umut Colak …
As the captain of Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team and a women’s rights activist, Nilofar Bayat fled when the Taliban took over, seeking safety in Spain where she hopes to soon be back on the court. Speaking to reporters in the northern city of Bilbao days after arriving on a Spanish military plane, this 28-year-old athlete …
Read more “Safe in Spain, Afghan Women’s Basketball Star Hopes to Play Again”
Six years ago, more than 1.2 million migrants from many parts of the world fled to Europe, traveling hundreds or thousands of kilometers to seek a new life in a crisis that has left deep political scars. Is the continent about to experience another refugee crisis, as millions of Afghans try to escape the Taliban? Several …
Read more “Will Afghanistan Create Another Migrant Crisis for Europe?”
In the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Russia is looking south with a wary eye to see how it can benefit from a situation fraught with opportunity and risk.Although it officially labels the Taliban a terrorist organization, Russia has engaged with their leaders for years, even inviting them to Moscow.As Western nations view …
Read more “Russia Casts a Pragmatic Eye on Afghanistan’s Taliban”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy opened the Crimean Platform summit in Kyiv Monday to build pressure on Russia over its annexation of the Crimea territory, which is viewed as illegal by most of the world.Officials from 46 countries and blocs are taking part in the two-day summit, including representatives from each of the 30 NATO members. …
U.S. officials are not alone in facing blame for miscalculating the speed of the Taliban offensive. European leaders and their security advisers are also coming under mounting criticism for misjudging how rapidly events would play out in Afghanistan once President Joe Biden had decided on withdrawing American forces from the central Asian country. In Britain, Prime …
Read more “NATO’s European Leaders Also Blamed for Kabul Debacle “
Scores of firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft battled a forest fire that broke out early Monday on the southern part of Greece’s Evia island, less than two weeks after an inferno decimated its northern part. The fire was burning near the village of Fygia where two neighborhoods have been evacuated and was moving toward the coastal tourist village of Marmari, where …
Read more “People Evacuated as New Wildfire Hits Greek Island”
Josephine Baker, the famed French American dancer, singer and actress who fought in the French resistance during WWII and later battled racism, will later this year become the first Black woman to enter France’s Pantheon mausoleum.Baker will be the sixth woman to join about 80 great national figures of French history in the Pantheon after …
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Seven people were killed near Kabul’s airport Saturday as thousands gathered in a desperate effort to leave the country as the Taliban take control, the British Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.The Taliban, after a 10-day offensive, entered the Afghanistan capital just a week ago, on August 15. Since then, the airport has been a chaotic …
Read more “UK Military: 7 People Killed in Chaos at Kabul Airport “
The chaotic aftermath of Washington’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is being followed with a mix of trepidation and glee thousands of kilometers away — in Africa’s Sahel, where another foreign power, France, also vows to wind down its long-running counterinsurgency operation, at least in its present form. As the United States continued to evacuate thousands …
Read more “For France’s Sahel Mission, Echoes of Afghanistan “
For generations, residents in the north of the Greek island of Evia have made their living from the dense pine forests surrounding their villages. Tapping the ubiquitous Aleppo pines for their resin, the viscous, sticky substance the trees use to protect themselves from insects and disease, provided a key source of income for hundreds of families. But …
Read more “Greece: Forest Fire Destroys Jobs of Pine Resin Collectors”